National News

Huge electricity discount for Qld homes

Southeast Queenslanders have a to chance to slash their household bill by hundreds of dollars a year thanks to a new player in the state's electricity market

Alinta Energy will offer new residential and small business customers a two-year discount of 25 per cent from August 14 as part of its joint venture with government-owned CS Energy.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she welcomed the offer and hoped it would put downward pressure on electricity prices across the board.

"Now is the time for all retailers to step up and see if they can match these lower price offers," Ms Palaszczuk said on Sunday.

Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said the move was a political ploy by the Palaszczuk government to buy votes.

"It's a con job that won't lower the price of power for households, for small business and for manufacturers," Mr Nicholls said.

Alinta's offer will not be available to regional Queenslanders but Ms Palaszczuk said the government would provide $488 million in subsides over the next year to maintain price parity with the southeast.

Last month Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said Queenslanders had been paying too much for their "gold-plated" electricity system.

"If we had a less concentrated market, prices would be lower," Mr Sims said.

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